Chapter 14: The Attack

As the next few days passed, Kyoko put her plan into action as best she could. Any time she had to be around Suoh she tried to be in character or just avoided talking to him altogether. From what she could tell, he seemed to have taken the hint and wasn't spending as much time pursuing her.

Overall, she felt like most of the stress concerning him, had dissipated. That was until Ren mentioned the one thing she had forgotten.

"Don't forget, tomorrow I won't be on set." He told her as they climbed into bed.

Kyoko's eyes widened.

"You forgot?" Ren asked.

She nodded and began to pout. "I still don't understand how there can be enough scenes for us to even film without you." Kyoko muttered.

Ren pulled her over to him, holding her tightly against him. "I told you, it was a scheduling conflict. I've had this shoot booked for months and I can't move it. Trust me, I don't like not being with you any more than you do." He placed a kiss on her lips before pulling away.

Kyoko kept her eyes closed, not wanting him to see how unsure she was about the next day's filming. "Well, he seems to have given up some at least. And it is only a few hours tomorrow."

Ren ran his fingers through her hair. "I did set up for Yashiro to be with you. So you won't be completely alone. I'm not just abandoning you." He told her softly.

Kyoko's eyes fluttered open. "I know you wouldn't abandon me. And I know that if you could be there, you would. I'm sure it'll be fine." She forced a smile for Ren's benefit before cuddling closer into his arms.

"I love you, Ren."

He kissed her head as his arms wrapped around her petite body. "I love you too. There's only a few more weeks of filming and then we'll be finished with this."

She nodded with her head buried against his chest. "We can do it."

The following morning, Ren woke Kyoko only long enough to kiss her good bye before heading out for the long drive to his photo shoot. An hour after he had left, Kyoko got up and showered. She dressed in a sundress and then headed to the kitchen.

"I should probably make something for Yashiro-san to eat as well." She told herself. She moved about the kitchen while her phone played music from a radio app Ren had helped her download. It was a good distraction from the inevitable day ahead of her.

Half an hour later, after Kyoko had wrapped up the breakfast sandwiches she had prepared, her phone rang. She quickly answered it.

"Good morning!" she answered cheerfully.

"Good morning, Kyoko-chan. This is Yashiro. I'm downstairs with a cab, ready whenever you are." The manager's voice sounded slightly tense and Kyoko could only imagine the type of warnings Ren had given him about protecting her.

"Of course, Yashiro-san. I'll be right down." She hung up the phone and grabbed her purse before heading out the door.

Outside of the apartment building she spotted Yashiro fiddling with his phone while standing next to a taxi. He looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and smiled at Kyoko. "Good morning, Kyoko-chan." He greeted her, placing his phone back in his pocket and removing the gloves from his hands.

"Good morning. I made you breakfast." She told him, offering one of the wrapped sandwiches she had prepared.

He seemed to relax a bit at this and accepted the food. "Thank you very much, Kyoko-chan. Ren really is very lucky to have you."

Kyoko blushed as she climbed into the car, giving an embarrassed laugh. "You shouldn't tease me, Yashiro-san."

"I would never." He answered with a warm smile.

The cab ride to the studio went faster than either of them had wanted and they soon found themselves on the set of the drama. Kyoko looked up at Yashiro. "I have to go get ready. I'll be fine on my own. I'll have Hina-chan with me."

Yashiro glanced around nervously. "I think I should still wait outside of your dressing room. That way I can escort you when you're done."

Kyoko nodded, "If you think that's best."

Yashiro was thankful she wasn't resisting. As sweet as Kyoko-chan can be, she can also be downright stubborn when it comes to her own well-being.

He waited patiently while Kyoko got into wardrobe and had her hair and make up done. Truthfully, he knew this would be the easiest part of the day. After all, so far they hadn't had to deal with Suoh.

His relaxing ended however, once Kyoko was in costume and filming was about to start. They had returned to the set and the trouble began as soon as Suoh laid eyes on her. He quickly approached Kyoko.

"Kyoko-chan, how good to see you again today." He said in a charming voice. He reached out and attempted to brush his fingertips against the actress's face.

Kyoko turned her face just enough for him to miss. "Good day to you as well, Onii-chan." She greeted him with an innocent smile.

He smirked, Fine, if you wanna be my little sister that works for me. He reached out and patted her head. "Are you looking forward to our date today, Hana?"

Kyoko inwardly cringed at the thought of going on a date with him. But she knew he was only referring to the scenes they were filming today- a brother/sister date between Hana and Keiji. Hana would be excited, but Kyoko was far less than thrilled.

"Of course, Onii-chan!" she exclaimed. "Let's go tell the director we are ready." The sooner it's over with, the better.

Action!

Hana paced back and forth outside of Keiji's room. She sighed loudly. "Are you almost ready, Keiji-nii?" I swear, you take longer to get ready than most girls."

"Fine, you can come in already." Came a voice from behind the door.

Hana didn't hesitate before bursting in through the unlocked door. The first sight she took in were the bunk beds. Both of which were neatly made and unoccupied. She looked around for her brother. "Where's Yusei-kun?" she asked. She turned and her eyes landed on her brother who was standing in the tiny kitchen of the room, with no shirt on.

"Oh, he went out early to finish some homework in the library." He answered calmly as he turned around drinking a cup of coffee.

Kyoko's head was spinning, she was fairly certain Suoh had had a shirt on before the filming began. So why did he take it off? She thought irritably. She forced herself not to blush or look away. Hana wouldn't do either of those things. She stepped forward following the script.

"Well, I think you've kept me waiting long enough. Can we go on our date now?" she pleaded sweetly. It was a tone Hana knew her brother couldn't resist.

Keiji smiled at her. "Anything for my adorable little sister." He murmured before stepping over to the chair he had his shirt draped over. He pulled it over his head while Hana looked around the room. She let her eyes linger for a moment on Yusei's bed, before making her way out the door with her brother.

Once the scene was over Kyoko took a long drink of the water bottle Yashiro had brought her. He watched her anxiously. He knew how innocent Kyoko was. And he knew she was probably struggling with the fact that she had just seen Suoh half-naked.

"Are you okay, Kyoko-chan?" he asked.

Kyoko jumped, and looked at him as if she had forgotten he was there. Her mind processed his question and she forced a calm smile. With a nod, she spoke. "Yes. Just a little distracted. Thank you for the water. I think I'm going to go ask the director if we are ready for the next scene." She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked away before Yashiro could say anything else.

As she walked away, Kyoko tried to force the image of Suoh's bare chest out of her mind. As a pure maiden that was the last thing I wanted to see. And why would Keiji let his younger sister see him like that? It's just indecent behavior. As she ranted to herself, she forgot to pay attention to her surroundings and tripped over a cable from one of the lights.

An arm wrapped around her waist, preventing her from smacking into the ground. She straightened herself. "Thank yo- Suoh-kun!" she exclaimed. She jumped out of his grasp and tried to calm herself.

He chuckled. "You should be more careful, Kyoko-chan. I know you're probably still thinking about seeing me half-naked, but really." He winked at her then stepped away.

Kyoko felt indignant. A fire was burning inside of her, but it wasn't due to being embarrassed. This fire was full of anger at this man who kept toying with her for his own amusement. And as sad as it was to admit, she really couldn't wait for the drama to be over.

After a few more scenes, Kyoko was happy to finally have a scene to film without Suoh. It was one from a different episode where she was seen talking to her friends from school. But while she was talking happily with her friends, another, very different conversation was happening with Yashiro.

Yashiro felt himself tense the moment Suoh approached him. He really would rather that this guy just stayed far away from Kyoko and Ren.

"Yashiro-san, was it?" Suoh asked uncertainly.

The manager gave him a sideways glance followed by a brief nod.

Suoh let out a quiet laugh. "So, I see Ren-kun doesn't let Kyoko-chan out without an escort." He shook his head in a disapproving manner. "He really should be able to trust his future wife."

Yashiro clenched his teeth. "Actually, Yamato-san, I'm here to keep undesirables from giving her unwanted attention." He glared pointedly at the other man and Suoh let out another laugh.

"Yes," he replied, "but you see, that theory only works if she thinks I'm undesirable." He whispered before giving a suggestive wink.

Yashiro felt a thousand angry words on the tip of his tongue that he wished he could spit out at this man before him, but he knew his orders and also knew that harassing one of the stars could be grounds to have him removed from the set. Then I'd be completely helpless. He thought irritably. He counted to ten as he breathed slowly. Calm yourself, Yukihito.

Kyoko was back, once again, to film another scene with Suoh. This time it involved them walking together and talking while cameras filmed the adorable "sibling" scenes. There was no actual script for this part, so they were told to just discuss anything they wanted but to make sure to keep smiling and laughing occassionally.

As they walked Kyoko was fully in character and she thought, since they were acting, Suoh would follow suit. So it startled her when he spoke. "I got to talking with your guard dog over there." He said with a smile.

Hana was gone after a moments confusion but Kyoko forced her face to stay in character. "Actually, he's a manager." She replied.

"It's the same thing either way. Your fiance doesn't trust you enough to be alone with me." He smirked at her, "Kind of makes me think that maybe you've been thinking about me too."

Kyoko suppressed a surprised look. Instead she forced out a laugh. "Keiji-nii, you are so funny." She told him through her giggles.

He laughed with her but then in a low whisper said, "Don't worry. We can discuss this later, without everybody else." He took her hand in his own as they walked and it took every bit of her actress spirit to stop her from ripping her hand out of his grasp.

After filming was finished for the day, Kyoko felt relieved. It finally felt like she could relax. She let Yashiro know she would be getting changed in her dressing room and then they could go. He nodded and started to follow her.

"Yashiro-san! Could I speak to you for a minute about Tsuruga-san's schedule for the rest of filming?" the director asked suddenly.

Yashiro glanced at Kyoko, but she nodded and gave him a quick thumbs up. He still looked worried but knew there was nothing more he could do.

Kyoko entered her dressing room and closed the door behind her. She removed her wig and began to remove the make up that she had on. When that was finished she let her hair down from the bun it was in. She fixed it in the mirror, but then froze. She spun around and saw Suoh standing just inside her room, the door closed behind him.

"Wh- what are you doing in here?" she squeaked out. She had meant to sound accusing, but her fear had stolen that from her.

He took a step closer, "I told you we'd talk alone, didn't I?"

Kyoko shook her head. "You shouldn't be in here. Yashiro-san will be right-"

Suoh laughed and the sound made Kyoko feel sick. "Your guard dog is caught up chatting away with the director." He told her. He took a step closer and grabbed Kyoko's hand pulling her close to him. "You know, you really are wasted on someone like Ren. I'm sure I could satisfy you much better."

Kyoko struggled, trying to push away from him but he was strong. "Let me go! I don't want anything to do with scum like you!" she cried out.

"Now, Kyoko." He said, dropping his honorifics. "How do you know that if you don't even give me a chance?" and with those words he wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pressing her body to his and used his other hand to position her head as he leaned in and forced his lips against her own.

Kyoko's head was spinning. For a moment she couldn't believe what was happening. That is, until she felt Suoh's tongue forcibly enter her mouth. Instinct kicked in and she bit him.

He pulled back from the kiss but didn't release his grip on her. "You brat!" he exclaimed.

Kyoko quickly aimed a kick at his shin and she was freed as he instinctively grabbed for his injured leg.

He straightened, glaring down at a frozen Kyoko. "You'll regret that," he threatened. He pulled his hand towards himself like he was preparing to hit her and Kyoko closed her eyes, arms flinching upwards to protect herself.

She heard the smack sound fill the room but she felt no pain. Her eyes opened and the first thing she saw were a pair of broken glasses lying on the floor. Her eyes traveled upwards and she saw what had shielded her.

Or rather, who…

"Yashiro-san!" she cried out.

Suoh stared down at the manager in shock. "Wh- I didn't… where did you-?" the words came out jumbled and it was obvious he was panicking.

Kyoko moved in front of Yashiro. She was no longer scared, now she was angry.

"How dare you injure him!" she yelled, "You are the worst kind of person. First, you force a kiss on a young woman, then you strike her friend. You don't deserve to be called an actor."

Suoh cursed under his breath before turning and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him.

Kyoko turned back to Yashiro and examined the red mark on his cheek that had already started to bruise. She reached up and touched the mark gently.

"I'm sorry, Yashiro-san. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." She looked around and picked up his glasses from the ground. "And now your glasses are broken as well." She looked up at him, waiting for him to respond.

The manager just stared at Kyoko. The pain he felt was a mere buzzing in the background of his mind. Here she was panicking, but not because of what had nearly happened to her, but simply because he had gotten hurt doing exactly what he had promised Ren. Trying to protect her.

His eyes widened suddenly. "Kyoko-chan, did you say he kissed you?"

Kyoko blushed then looked down feeling ashamed. "Yes, he did. But it's okay. Besides, it was my fault for not being more on guard."

As she finished her statement, Yashiro pulled her into a tight gentle hug. It was the first time that she could remember being hugged by him.

Yashiro felt his eyes sting, not from pain, but from the tears that were starting to form.

"I am so sorry, Kyoko-chan. I failed at the one thing I promised Ren I would do. Protecting you."

A/N: First, I'm sorry it's been a while but I hope this chapter was exciting and helped make up for the time away. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because it flowed easily. We are near the end and now all that's left is for them to teach Suoh a lesson.

See you next chapter!